Toothbrush devices have been in existence for many years. In general, the toothbrush contains a handle, a head portion and a bristle portion. In use, a dentrifice material or toothpaste is applied to the bristle portion of the toothbrush device and one's teeth can be cleaned or brushed. Applying toothpaste to the bristles can be messy and sloppy, and can be wasteful since some of the toothpaste may not be accurately applied to the toothbrush and end up on the toothbrush handle, on the toothbrush paste dispenser, or in the sink. Further, depending on the type of dispenser and how one dispenses the toothpaste, much of the toothpaste may remain in the dispenser when the dispenser is discarded adding to the waste of toothpaste.
After a number of teeth cleanings or brushings, the bristles on the toothbrush wear out and the toothbrush becomes ineffective and must be replaced. The toothbrush must then be discarded and a new toothbrush must be purchased. This creates even more waste since the handle of the toothbrush does not necessarily wear out.
A toothbrush that can accept a vial or cartridge filled with toothpaste, and deliver the toothpaste to the bristles of the toothbrush would alleviate the inherent mess and waste of the conventional toothbrush and toothpaste system. This toothpaste dispensing toothbrush would also have to be manufactured with a minimal number of parts to reduce the cost of the toothbrush, and the toothbrush would have to be easy to operate.
Although there are many toothpaste dispensing toothbrushes in the prior art, none possess all of the advantages of the present invention. U.S. Pat. No. 3,995,648 discloses a toothbrush and toothpaste supply container that utilizes a complex multi-piece piston and an internally threaded hollow barrel to dispense toothpaste to the bristles of the toothbrush. However, the device is configured such that toothpaste is placed directly into the hollow barrel instead of utilizing a vial or cartridge. The threaded hollow barrel makes it difficult to clean the residual toothpaste from the barrel prior to recharging the barrel with paste. Further, the multi-piece piston, which contains a disc-shaped assembly with two mating portions, a piston rod and an O-ring, would be expensive to manufacture and assemble compared to the cost of a standard toothbrush.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,693,622 discloses a combined toothbrush and toothpaste dispenser, which collapses into a compact unit for carrying convenience. The device includes a paste container held in by a cap that is placed over the container once the container is inserted. Upon activation of the device, toothpaste is delivered to the brush head, which can be extended out from the body casing or handle. However, it is not possible to easily insert and remove the paste cartridge by flexing the handle and loading the cartridge into the handle.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,439,014 discloses a toothbrush with a hollow cavity that can contain liquid dentrifice material. The toothbrush contains multiple pin-sized apertures within the handle of the brush to equalize the pressure inside the handle such that when the toothbrush is held upside down, the liquid dentrifice material flows to the brush head. However, paste dentrifice material will not flow as liquid dentrifice material, so it is not possible to use paste instead of liquid, nor is it possible to utilize a plunger to transfer or deliver the paste to the toothbrush head portion.
The prior toothbrush devices disclose complex toothbrush systems that appear to be able to deliver toothpaste to toothbrush bristles. The prior systems contain many unnecessary parts in order to either support a toothpaste cartridge or to deliver the toothpaste to the toothbrush head portion. These extra parts increase the manufacturing costs and increase the chance of failure of the toothbrush device. Further, since in many of the existing devices toothpaste is deposited directly into the handle of the toothbrush, the devices do not provide for the complete removal of the paste from the system, and therefore fail to reduce the amount of mess and waste of toothpaste.